Railway crosstie



Sept. 13, 1949. J. DELL RAILWAY CROSS-TIE Filed March 51, 1948 Attorneys Patented Sept. 13, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RAILWAY CROSSTIE Joseph Dell, Windber, Pa. Application March 31, 1948, Serial No. 18,235

1 Claim.

This invention relates to railway cross-ties and has more particular reference to ties adapted for use in mine railways and which have rail holding means associated therewith.

One object of the invention is to provide a cross-tie of this general type which carries means for joining the abutting ends of two rails toether.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cross-tie, as above characterized, in which the rail joining means is in the form of a fishplate mounted adjacent one end of the cross-tie and carrying fish bolts.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cross-tie, as above characterized, in which the fish bolts are rigidly secured to the fishplate and wherein wedging means are employed to hold the fish bolts in engagement with the abutting rails.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cross-tie, as above characterized, which comprises few parts, thereby eliminating bolts, nuts and pins, etc., which are liable to become loose or frozen, and one which is simple in construction, easy to install and remove, and eificient and durable in operation.

A still further and more specific object of the invention is to provide an improved type of rail joining member.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the following specification when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view, with parts broken away, of a cross-tie constructed in accordance with the present invention, with track rails shown mounted thereon;

Fig. 2 is a plan view, with parts broken away, of the cross-tie shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the crosstie shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary front elevational view, partly in cross section, showing details of the fishplate; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing how the wedge is used with the crosstie.

It is customary in laying track for mine railways and the like, to employ cross-ties which carry means for clamping the rails to the crossties by a wedging operation, thereby eliminating the use of bolts or spikes. One form of such a cross-tie is shown in U. 8. Patent No. 917,489, issued on April 6, 1909, to J. J. Ross for cross-tie. However, cross-ties of this type make no pro- Vision for securing the abutting ends (i two rails together and the usual types of fishplates and fish bolts are employed for this purpose when such cross-ties are used.

In general, the present invention provides a cross-tie of the wedge-actuated clamping type provided with a fish-plate rigidly secured adjacent one end and in which the fish bolts are held in place by the same wedging action which clamps the rails to the cross-tie.

Referring now to the drawing, there is illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, a cross-tie constructed in accordance with the present invention and the manner in which it is employed to secure together the abuttingends of a pair of track rails. As there shown, a cross-tie l0 supports and has clamped thereto a right hand rail II and a pair of left hand rails l2, l3 having their abutting ends joined and secured together by a connecting member I 4 carried by the cross-tie adjacent one end thereof. The rails are of the usual type employed in mines and quarries and comprise a head I5, web I6 and a flanged base l'l.

In the particular embodiment illustrated, the cross-tie I0 is substantially identical in construction to that shown in the above mentioned patent to Ross and comprises an elongated body member l8, having its ends bent upward and inward to form hook-like terminals or abutments IS. The body member [8 is preferably made of an inverted U-shaped metal channel member.

Means are provided for holding the rails upon the cross-tie and, as shown, such means may comprise a pair of lugs or clamps 29, each secured on the upper surface of the body member l8 inwardly of one of the upturned ends. In the particular embodiment shown, the clamps 29 are preferably made of U-shaped metal channel members having one end bent upward to provide a clamping surface. The clamp members 29 are rigidly secured to the cross-tie in any suitable manner, and in the particular embodiment illustrated they are riveted to the body member.

After the rails are placed upon the cross-ties, they are forced inwardly, with the inner portions of their flanged bases I I wedged under the clamp members 29, by driving tapered wedge members 2| between the abutments l9 and the webs I6 of the rails. The wedge members 2| are preferably made of wood and are driven forward to exert a firm lateral pressure upon the rails to 00- act with the clamping members 20 to rigidly hold the rails in position.

Means are also provided for securely joining the abutting ends of a pair of rails and, as shown, such means, indicated generally at M,

may comprise a rectangular connecting member or fishplate 22 suitably secured to one of the clamping members 20. In the particular embodiment illustrated, the fishplate is made of metal and is welded to the outer end of the left hand clamping member 20 in substantially parallel relation to the webs of the abutting rails l2, l3 (see Fig. 4).

At least two horizontally spaced projections or fish bolts",- 23 are:rigidly'securedwtortthefishplate. In the particular embodiment. shown, the -fish bolts 23 are welded to the fish plate and are positioned to be in alignment with and project through corresponding bolt holes 24 formed in each of the abutting end of the rails l2 and t3, when the ends of the rails are iorcediinwardly by the left hand wedge member 2|. There is at least one hole 24 in each of the-abuttingends-of the rails I2 and I3, and when a fish bolt :23 projects through its corresponding aligned hole 24, the abuttingr ds ol eth lrails leana is will be secur yheldt gether. 111mm, l heabuttihg ends of the rails are not held in actual engagement, b t ar separated,als i htidis ante ;to allow for expa sion and qohtratti h pf :the :rails, .due t empe ature phan ea :in .whichcase, the bolt holes 31 i the webs adiacentth en s of the rai s arehso. lota .dthatl when they receive the fish bolts 23, the QLLdS,Qf 'the,I 2 i1S are spaced the rop rn stant apart.

.From the. f reg ina te eadily wi l be seen that there.hasnheen prorideda tmssetie'havin means fo clam i g hetratklrailsthereto andihavln means i slq llihg thaahlltt ngends of two track rails tpsether .a b wagi g action, thereby e imin t ng the use omnlhes QrjhQlts ,iandnuts or .rloos lnarts which maybejlost, an also atilitate the .d sassemhly and rem val of the ni hetra k.

Whil the i tent on lhas .ltee illustrated and describecli tonneption withe 3 5s press-tie, ly, other.typrslofe r sseties could he ml y an the CQI ILGQ e member or fishp at an be 1 5 51 ne .QILQiQ -.a-.01Q r And, h l t e cl mp 1. .thezfishplatezz and fish bolts 0 p QieQt Qn Zthave be n idestr bed as made n sep at parts andwelded tgeetherm r usly, h 4 3219120 and ilfihmateigj p ould be made from a si gle pi ce o stgelepretsed'lmtoprope shape 4 and. the fish bolts could be pressed in the fishplate 22, and, too, the clamp 20, the fishplate 22 and the fish bolts or projections 23 could be formed in one piece and then secured to the member I8.

What is claimed is:

A cross-tie adapted for use at rail joints on a mine railway or the like for clamping the rails and for securing together the abutting ends of a pair .of rails comprisingian .elongated :body member=having abutments formed on each end, a pair of rail clamps rigidly secured to said body member, each spaced inwardly of one of said abutgmentsin ,-position to engage the inside flange of a rail mounted between the abutments and the w.clamps,-:a fishplate rigidly secured to one of said clamps-said,plateethaving a spaced pair of fish bolts rigidly secured thereto and positioned to be yreceiued in corresponding aligned openings in the abutting ends of a pair [of rails mounted between the .clamp carrying the sfishplate ;and its ecorrespending ,abutment,,lsaid .fi hplate "being spaced from opposing1abutmentsa-isuflicient distance to permit the jointedtnails to be moved-laterally to disengage them:- froml-thee-"fish :bolts and wedges adapted to be insertedtand edriven betweemthe rail webs and the abntmentsficr holdingithez-ra-ils in tight engagement with the clamps with the-fish bolts receivedin qthenp n ngs in theza'butting ends of i-the pair of railstand with the ,=.outer iendsxoi the rfi h =bolts.;pressedeagainstithe wedge when the bases-of ;the ..abutting mails aare wedged i-in their clamped position, whereby thenrails will zbevheld securely :on the body member and the abutting nds p :pair of rails will be securel held together.

-JQSEPH .DELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofvthis patent:

vUNI'IED.e-STATLES ePAIIIENTS 

